Liam Day: Is Gov. Walker a despot or a debt warrior?

Monday

Feb 28, 2011 at 12:01 AMFeb 28, 2011 at 12:57 AM

The demonstrations that have now toppled two North African regimes continue to spread –– to Libya, Bahrain, Iran and even, it would seem, to Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott Walker’s actions have been equivalent to those of a despot, at least according to some protestors and other anti-Walker opponents.

Liam Day

The demonstrations that have now toppled two North African regimes continue to spread –– to Libya, Bahrain, Iran and even, it would seem, to Wisconsin, where Gov. Scott Walker’s actions have been equivalent to those of a despot, at least according to some protestors and other anti-Walker opponents.

Wisconsin faces a current-year budget shortfall of $137 million and a combined deficit of $3.6 billion over the next three years. Less than some states, but still not chump change.

To close the gap, the governor proposed stripping some of the state’s public employee unions of certain collective bargaining rights. If the bill were to become law, the unions would no longer be able to bargain for health care and other post-employment benefits like pensions, though they would retain the right to collectively bargain base wages.

Walker proposed the bill, in part, to double how much the state’s public employees contribute toward their health insurance premiums and to increase the amount they’re expected to contribute to their pensions by 5.8 percent, without having to negotiate the increases. For this, he has been labeled a mini Mubarak, the now-deposed Egyptian leader.

Of course, the governor and some of his supporters have foolishly invited the comparison. First, Walker suggested the National Guard “is prepared to respond if there is any unrest among state employees,” who have been protesting in the capital for over a week now. Then Republican Congressman Paul Ryan was quoted as saying, “It’s like Cairo has moved to Madison.”

These are blatantly stupid comments. But do they really beg a comparison between Gov. Walker and Hosni Mubarak? Is the governor really a despot?

He was elected in a vote that, I can only assume, wasn’t rigged. As protests heated up, he didn’t attempt to shut down Internet service and, as far as I know, he hasn’t activated the National Guard to intimidate and, if necessary, beat and torture opponents.

As for the specific measures the governor proposes, they are also not as draconian as they would appear. Doubling what Wisconsin state employees currently contribute toward their health insurance premiums would mean an increase from 6 to 12 percent.

And the increase in what they’re expected to contribute to their future pensions? That would set the new rate at 5.8 percent. That’s right. Currently, Wisconsin’s state employees contribute nothing toward their pensions.

Walker has made tactical mistakes that cast suspicion on his true intent, leading opponents to claim that his motivation isn’t fiscal but political. He rejected a compromise under which the unions would have accepted the increase in premium and pension payments in exchange for the right to continue to bargain collectively for those benefits in the future.

The bill’s language would also make union membership voluntary and eliminate step increases based on seniority. It exempts public safety unions.

But despite the standoff it ignited, what Walker proposed isn’t unique. State employees in Massachusetts get health insurance through the Group Insurance Commission, which selects plans and sets employee contribution rates without negotiating them.

There is good reason for this. Health care and pension costs are chewing up state and local budgets, leaving less and less for direct programs and services. A recent Boston Foundation report determined that state aid to local school districts isn’t keeping up with the rising cost of health care. Between 2000 and 2007, Chapter 70 aid increased by $700 million. Health care costs increased by $1 billion.

To put it another way, since the century’s turn, every new dollar (and more) the state has distributed to local school districts has gone to offset health insurance costs. Not a single dollar of it has bought a textbook or hired a special-needs teacher or paid for professional development.

This trend is clearly unsustainable. Admitting so doesn’t make one Hosni Mubarak. Neither does attempting to implement measures that would slow the rate of increase –– measures that are already in place in other states.

Liam Day is a writer and public policy analyst. He lives in Dorchester, Mass.